It’s a bittersweet Tuesday afternoon at The New York Botanical Garden. On the one hand, we’re sitting square in the turkey-shaped shadow of what is undeniably my favorite holiday. On the other–and I say this with my own little chorus of sighs–2012′s weekly Greenmarket comes to its delectable end on Wednesday, November 21! I know, it’s a heartbreaker. But if you’re going to draw the curtains on your farmer’s market (or put it on hiatus, as in this case), there’s no better time for a food-centric going away party than the day before the year’s most extravagant meal.

If you haven’t already run your obligatory supermarket gauntlet, think about skipping this year’s cavalcade of canned goods and making your way to the Garden for a selection of the freshest fruits and vegetables you’ll find anywhere. Add the Greenmarket’s gourmet pies, breads, and other baked goods to the mix, and all you’ll need to hunt down is a turkey (figuratively speaking, of course–our wild turkeys are of the “look but don’t touch” variety).

Last week’s penultimate Greenmarket highlighted squash, scallions, chard, turnips, apples, pears, spinach, and a rainbow of potatoes. On the baked front, we enjoyed plenty of pies and cookies, cupcakes, muffins, a selection of jams to smear on them, and apple cider to wash it all down. And that’s just what I could fit into this brief post without going overboard; there’s more than enough left of the fall harvest to set your Thanksgiving table and then some.
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We’re seeing a lot of countdowns, lately. Fall is drawing to a close, the IGPOTY submission deadline is on the horizon, and we’re pipping off the days until the opening of the Holiday Train Show. Near at hand, we’re also staring down the November 21 close of 2012′s Greenmarket season; tomorrow–Wednesday, November 14–marks the penultimate chance to get your fresh fruits, vegetables, baked goods and cheeses before our vendors close up shop until next summer. And why, oh why, would you choose to skip out on fresh eats?

I didn’t think you would!

Last week’s menu was stuffed with fresh-from-the-oven goodies by both The Little Bake Shop and Meredith’s Bakery (you’ll find a reliable herd of staffers making a mad dash for the whoopie pies each Wednesday morning). Chocolate croissants, cupcakes, cookies, fruit pies, and plenty of freshly-baked breads took center stage, while Migliorelli Farm’s apple cider donuts weren’t exactly flying under the radar, either.
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This Wednesday’s weekly NYBG Greenmarket is back on track, meaning you’ll be free to stock up on fall’s freshest vegetables as the city starts bundling up for the coming winter chill. Seeing as it’s now November, this is also one of three remaining chances to do so; the Greenmarket’s marathon of summer and fall harvests will come to a close on Wednesday, November 21.

But that’s still plenty of time! Time enough to enjoy the last of the greens, a wealth of winter gourds, pumpkins piled high, and–with any luck–a few jugs of freshly-pressed apple cider (the crown jewel of fall eats, really). The weekly Greenmarket is also an opportunity to bulk up your pantry with hand-picked foods for the coming Thanksgiving smorgasbord. Not that I really need to remind your appetite about the apocalyptic dietary decisions you’ll be making–even without healthy fruits and vegetables.
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Ahhh, the comforting vignettes of fall’s arrival: the Grand Allée‘s tulip trees tinged with gold, families touring the Garden in matching jackets, a ravenous horde of pumpkin patch ghouls dragging themselves up from their earthen tombs.

Er, yeah, we place the blame firmly on Ray Villafane and his cadre of spooky sculptors for that last one.

In the midst of our Halloween month (because why would you ever celebrate the most frightful holiday of the year for only a single night?), we continue on with another fall tradition that hits each week through November 21: the Wednesday Greenmarket! Bearing in mind the ongoing creepfest in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden and elsewhere at the NYBG, you’ll of course find piles of pumpkins and seasonal gourds to decorate your porch. But there are also plenty of fall favorites to keep on your list that you’re not obliged to carve into jack o’ lanterns, because one cannot live on pumpkin pie alone–at least not for more than a week or two.
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How could I possibly cobble together this week’s Greenmarket preview without a nod to October’s star of show? Oh, right–I couldn’t. Today marks the arrival of some of the country’s biggest and best to The New York Botanical Garden, and in honor of their prize-winning rotundity, we absolutely must give culinary credit where credit is due. So here’s to Halloween’s most hallowed heavyweight: the pumpkin!

Our Greenmarket has seen a steady trickle of pumpkins, gourds, and squashes in general over the past while, and we expect to see this bounty pick up in the coming weeks as we dig deeper into fall. But this Wednesday is also notable in that it’s something of an unofficial precursor to our weekend festivities. While you’re shopping your way through piles of fresh autumn eats, we’ll be prepping their monumental, record-breaking cousins from around the country that are even now making their way to the NYBG. Starting this weekend, each giant will go under the knives of master carver Ray Villafane and his band of artful miscreants as they create the most terrifying and titillating Halloween display we’ve rolled out yet.
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It may be overcast and drizzling this morning, but that hasn’t put a damper on the Greenmarket staff’s ambitions! The produce tents are up and running along Garden Way until 3 p.m. this afternoon, and because I wasn’t able to get a preview up yesterday, I’ll just go ahead and give you a taste of what’s available in as short and sweet a format as I can throw together.

Fruitwise, we’re looking at piles of pears (both Seckel and Bartlett varieties) surrounded by Jonamac and Golden Delicious apples. For those sniffing out the last of the summer fruit pies or the first of fall’s confections, you’ll also find stacks of pecan, cherry, pumpkin, and peach pies making the scene. Further, those with a tooth for greens and salad toppers will want to peruse the mountains of beets, black radishes, arugula, purple haze carrots and Brussels sprouts.
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Peach and raspberry pies, savoy cabbage, pear cider, pickled beets, Macintosh apples, parsnips and tomato juice! This is just a sampling of the fresh baked, picked, or pressed eats stacked high during last week’s Greenmarket cornucopia, and there’s sure to be more this Wednesday as we dig deeper into the fall harvest.

Believe it or not, the crowds have only grown since the thermometer started dipping. I guess you can’t underestimate the power of fresh fruits and vegetables to mobilize New Yorkers before the sleet and snow start falling, though the threat of pale, “cardboard” tomatoes on the horizon might also have something to do with it! So if your schedule is lax and your fruit bowl is looking a touch on the skinny side, scribble “Greenmarket” into the October 3 slot in your organizer, leave your produce bag by the door, and drop a couple bucks on your Metrocard for a stop in the Bronx.
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Already hunting in vain for the tastes of summer–that last, sweet reminder of tan lines and getting the mail without boots on? While your friends tell you it’s masochism, you may have a few crumbs of luck left: last week’s Greenmarket bounty included a teasing stack of peach pies from The Little Bake Shop. And while there are no guarantees that we’ll see more stone fruit desserts on the tables tomorrow, it can’t hurt to take a look, right? In the meantime, what little remains of summer’s harvest now makes way for the rush of autumn edibles.

If waiting until Thanksgiving for your first dose of melons, gourds, and root vegetables sounds foolish to you (c’mon, it does), then you’ll want to make tomorrow your day out. We’re expecting to see piles of mellow Asian melons, decorative pumpkins, gourds in Seussian shapes and beans by the armful. On the starchy front, parsnips and potatoes are practically begging for a stew, and the beets and radishes aren’t far behind. You’ll even have a chance to bag up some apples and pears while you’re here.
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Tomorrow is Wednesday, and that means one thing and one thing only (if you’re particularly fixated on fresh produce, at least): the NYBG Greenmarket! From what the calendar tells me, we’re looking at the last official summer Greenmarket before we move on toward autumn’s bushels and baskets–spicy apple cider and the like–so you might want to think about hoofing it up here while we’re still savoring the flip-flop weather. It’s been pleasantly cool out until now, but some trees are already coloring for fall; it’s going to be scarves and pea coats before you can say “fare thee well peaches.”

Last week’s tasty loot came in the form of apple-cranberry pies, concord grapes, San Marzano tomatoes, jalapenos, bosc pears, and so much more. But along with the fruits, vegetables, and baked goods, I noticed something else: the Greenmarket staffers work really hard. They’re out there each week, trucking away to keep market events moving smoothly, and striving to get the word out to New Yorkers in all the boroughs. Beyond that, they’re holding events within events, like last week’s cooking demonstration. I’m only disappointed that I missed out on the omelettes!
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Wednesdays are foodie days at The New York Botanical Garden, and the twelfth is no different! If your palate’s been hunting for something a touch more scintillating than what you can sniff out at your average midtown hot dog stand, it’s not a crime to look outside your borough–the Bronx, perhaps? As always, our Greenmarket is a cornucopia of home-grown goodies!

Peppers in many a color were last week’s highlights–orange, yellow, and red, all crisp and piquant–while apples flaunted sweetness among the pre-fall fruits. Even the fresh bitterness of dandelion greens was on call. Not to be outdone by the “two to four servings a day” crowd, The Little Bake Shop and Millport Dairy made a delectable point with fresh-baked breads, raisin oatmeal cookies, and berry pies to put any dessert tray to shame. Wash it down with a fruity juice from Red Jacket Orchards and you’re sending off summer with all the right flavors.
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